| This month Xerces celebrates its 53rd birthday! Xerces brings together communities to learn, do research, create habitat, and make an impact for the invertebrates we all love. Over the past five decades, we have celebrated big wins for invertebrates. Just last week, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed to list the monarch butterfly as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. This is a huge win for the survival of this declining species, and Xerces’ work on this effort was made possible thanks to your support.
Butterflies, bees, dragonflies, beetles, spiders, mussels, and other invertebrates sustain life as we know it. These creatures make up a stunning 96 percent of known animal species. This staggering abundance is precisely why our founder, Robert Michael Pyle, called the work of the Xerces Society “the biggest job in the world.”
Yet many invertebrate species are in decline. Humans have removed, degraded, and fragmented valuable habitat. Add in the toxic pesticides that are widely used, competition from invasive plants and animals, poor water quality, and climate change, and you can see that it is hard to be an insect in this human-dominated world.
The good news is that there is hope. To reverse these trends, we need high-quality, climate-resilient habitat across the landscape. That is where you come in. People like you can convert lawns into diverse natural habitats, grow native plants, restore farm landscapes, eliminate pesticide use, become an advocate for insect conservation, and donate to fund this work.
We have solutions to this crisis, but as a donor-supported nonprofit, we will only be successful with your support. At the end of each year, we look to you to provide us with the foundation to continue this essential work in the next year. If you are able, please consider making a tax-deductible gift this year-end.
Warmly,
Scott Black, Director
P.S. We accept tax-wise ways to give and there are only a few business days left in the year to initiate your gift if you would like it to count in 2024 (gifts must be received by Tuesday, December 31st).
- IRA QCD: If you are 70½ years or older, you can make a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) directly from your IRA. (Please allow several days for processing.)
- Stock: Giving gifts of stock can often have tax advantages over cash gifts. Transfer information is located at xerces.org/donate/stock. (Please allow several days for processing.)
- DAF: Consider setting up a Donor-Advised Fund (DAF) to efficiently manage all of your charitable contributions.
Please consult your financial advisor to choose the best giving strategy for your unique situation. |
North Carolina Small Farm Association 